The Friendly Arctic

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III EN our three ships sailed from the romantic Gold Camp of Nome, Alaska, late in July, 1913, northward into the polar ocean, I was dissatisfied with our expedition in only one important respect. It was too sumptuously outfitted. Forethought appeared to have anticipated every eventuality. We had a...
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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III EN our three ships sailed from the romantic Gold Camp of Nome, Alaska, late in July, 1913, northward into the polar ocean, I was dissatisfied with our expedition in only one important respect. It was too sumptuously outfitted. Forethought appeared to have anticipated every eventuality. We had a plan ready for every accident: if plan A went wrong, then plan B would be substituted. We had a staff of thirteen scientific specialists to look after the gathering of information each in his own department. There was a good man, ably assisted, in command of each of our ships, and in the Karluk, in which I sailed, I had Captain Bob Bartlett with the reputation of the world's best ice master, the confidence of the crew, and his alternative replies to any suggestion or order of mine ? Right sir when he felt formal and the crew were within earshot; otherwise Don't you worry ? leave it to me The trouble was, there seemed nothing left for the commander of such an expedition to do. He spake, and it was so promised to be the story of our enterprise. There may be much to be said for the fiat method of creating a universe, but it cannot be supposed to have been interesting. I feared I should be actually bored by all that smooth-working machinery. My fears on this score began to be gradually removed. First, the thirty-ton gasoline schooner, Alaska, under command of Dr. R. M. Anderson, had trouble with her engine and had to put into Teller, ninety miles north of Nome, for repairs. Then a gale came up and our two remaining ships separated. This was because Captain Peter Bernard of the Mary Sachs (30 tons, twin propellers, gasoline power), with the advantage of local experience, believed in keeping his ship near shore, and did so, while Captain Bartlett, a deep-s...